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Friday, February 10, 2012

My Carnival Cruise Experience

Thursday afternoon, we set sail out of New Orleans with Carnival Cruise Lines headed to Cozumel, Mexico with a group of about 30 ladies, mostly who are members at Curves! We were truly elated to be on board the Elation. =) Cheesey, I know, but really, the Elation was fantastic and did not disappoint!

I'll break it down into three separate categories, the three F's: Food, Fun (On Ship), and Fun (On Land). =)

Food

When I went on my honeymoon cruise 7 years ago, the buffet lines were eh-ok. The dinners in the formal dining rooms were delicious, but the portions were really small, so I was expecting more of the same. However, I was pleasantly surprised! Not only was I blown away by the buffets that I sampled (Italian, Mongolian Wok and Pizza), but the meals in the formal dining room were absolutely delicious.

Now, I've read a few negative reviews that the food on cruise ships is not impressive. Welll, I don't know what those reviewers ate, but I loved what I tried. The fish & roasted veggies from the Italian buffet was so tasty (pictured below) that I actually forgot to take a picture before I devoured it! The pizza was deliciously cheesy and greasy and exactly what I wanted after a morning in the sun! The pork & veggies stir fry with teriyaki sauce was delicious and healthy.

The dining room menu had a wide variety of choices. It had such a wide variety that I was forced on more than one night to order three different appetizers, plus a main course, and dessert.

Oh, and don't even get me started on how amazing the desserts were! All in all, I was very impressed with the food that was served on the ship!

Fun (On Ship)

The Elation had plenty of fun activities for the days we were "at sea." They had many group activities that my little core group (made up of me, my sis, my mom and my aunt) avoided because we're more "lay out and enjoy the sunshine" types than "join the crowd for crazy fun" types.

However, our days at sea were accompanied by clouds and wind. On our final day at sea, as our ship was getting further and further away from the Caribbean, it was getting chillier and chillier. So, we ventured inside to see what we could find. We ended up playing a game of Win, Lose or Draw and then participated in a Scavenger Hunt. And let it be known that we won . . . both! That had nothing to do with me, really. We simply had a very talented artist and some pretty talented scavengers in our group. =)

The ship also had different performances and shows each evening. Now, if I'm being completely honest, most of those shows started entirely too late for my taste. I mean, a show that starts at 9:00? Really??? If you know me at all, then you know that I'm usually in bed watching Seinfeld by that time! ;)

My favorite performance was given by Erin and the Elation Band. This girl is so talented!!

We snapped a picture with her because I just know that she'll end up being famous someday. ;)

Fun (On Land)

Finally, we get to the part y'all are really interested in. Mexico!! (Said with a spanish accent) If you didn't use the spanish accent, go back and try again! It'll make the whole experience that much better. ;)

We had loads of excursions to choose from, but we ended up choosing the Mayan Ruins & Beach excursion. I guess some people like a little history lesson with their vacation. ;) We had a fantastic tour guide, who was really funny and informative . . . at the same time. I know, it takes true talent to inject humor into a lecture about ruins that are as old as time.

This iguana seriously tried to attack us! Or it ran away in fear, but to me, it felt like it was running right for me every time it so much as twitched! ;)

After the trip to the Ruins, we went to a little private beach. The water was beautiful!!

I'm sure I'm biased, but I still think the white sand in the panhandle of Florida is prettier. ;)

And that's about it, y'all! I had a great time, but I'm happy to be home, sleeping in my own bed and getting up all hours of the night with my munchkins. ;)

21 comments:

That is too funny - we made the same Cozumel trip too :) (Back in May of 2011!) SO FUN!! THe Mayan Ruins are great, aren't they??When we were driving there - we took a cab - SCARY. We shared it with another couple we met and on the way there - we were stopped at a military check point. ALSO - once we got into town, some lady was throwing stones at us for being "the rich white folks in a car." It was nutty.

Tiffany this is so awesome! You look so good in all of the pics. Glad you got all of the bathing suits ;)The food really looks delish. That iguana is BIG! WOW! LOL at you regarding what time the shows started. HAHAHA Thanks for sharing your trip pics, they are truly wonderful. I've never taken a cruise.http://www.averysweetblog.com/

we've been on two cruises- one was out of New Orleans and the other out of Cape Canaveral, FL. The first one was a week long cruise on Royal Carribean's Grandeur of the Seas way back in 2003. Both times we cruised in November and the waves were a bit rough. I didn't do well and had to take lots of dramamine on both but I had a good time on both of them. :)

I'm so glad you had a good time. And I have to agree- I think the water on the panhandle of florida is WAY better.

By the way- we just booked our vacation in Destin again for memorial weekend. :)

OMG - these photos makes me miss summer AND beach so much! I love cruising but have only done it once. Truth be told I am afraid to go again just because the food was great and you can eat ALL DAY LONG! I gained so much after coming back from the cruise. PLUS I miss my kids. The next one we will go on might be a Disney cruise so we can bring the kids along. Just need to save money for it =) Have a great weekend my dear!

i have cruised 4 times and my hubby has 10!!! we love it, but we travel with royal caribbean. i have celiac disease, and they still manage to find me gluten free options for every meal. LOVE cruising and can't wait to do it again soon.

Jealous! Looks like so much fun. I've been on one cruise- just a short one to the Bahamas. To be honest, I had more fun in the Florida port! And then I felt like I was on a boat for a couple days after!Sarahhttp://comingunstitched.blogspot.com

Your cruise looks really relaxing! I like the food pictures especially. And I like the idea of eating and relaxing on the ship. The beach looks really beautiful too. And you girls look like you are having a fun time.

Your cruise looks really relaxing! I like the food pictures especially. And I like the idea of eating and relaxing on the ship. The beach looks really beautiful too. And you girls look like you are having a fun time.